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Wow, Rachael. Kudos to you for highlighting the McCain Blogette. That is quite a campaign artifact. Like mother, like daughter, eh? That little anime silhouette in the corner wearing nothing but BRIGHT RED heels and a tank top, a certain part of the anatomy lit up by the glow of the laptop. A BBF named La-Toria, a la Paris and Nicole. Dozens of viewer letters from girl-fans saying some version of Wow! This is an awesome Web site! or You definitely bring a brighter side to your father's campaign!!! Dozens of links from boy fans saying some version of "Is she smoking hot?" (referring to Meghan of course) And the other sister, the adopted one with the braces and the scared look onstage, conspicuously absent.
I remember when Karenna Gore did campaign dispatches for Slate, and they were, as one McCain Blogette fan says, "refreshingly authentic." They were funny and ironic and just short of telling tales out of school. This Meghan McCain blog is something entirely different. It's like a poll-tested perfect shout-out to the MySpace generation. A little Ramones, a little Wonkette, a little Hannah Montana, some candid family pics and short, grainy clips from a cell-phone video.
Poor Chelsea. Earnest 4eva :(
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Coming in late to the "pimped out" conversation, I know, but I had a revelation while checking out Meghan McCain's blog. I wonder if the perception that Chelsea is being used by Hillary's campaign (like Dahlia, I need my job, so I'm not using the p-word) comes from what kind of work Chelsea is doing for the campaign, not the mere fact that she's out there at all. (And I want to say before I go on that I totally agree with Hanna's point that of course kids campaign for their parents.)
Chelsea is making phone calls and giving speeches (kinda boring ones, if I read Melinda correctly). Meanwhile, John McCain's daughter is telling us that "Riding on the plane for 5 hours to San Diego felt like: Rufus Wainwright's ‘Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Reprise),' " and "Having such a rockin' Super Tuesday felt like: Michael Jackson's ‘Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough.' " She intersperses photos of rallies and campagin stops with goofy pictures from her travels and talks about her love of fashion and going to In-and-Out burger. The clear message is that she's an otherwise normal twentysomething who loves her dad and thinks he will be a great president—there's so much visible warmth and enthusiasm. She's reaching out to young voters without making it seem like work.
I'm not so far removed from my 20s that I've forgotten that there's a difference between being 23, like Meghan, and 28, like Chelsea. But just because Chelsea is a successful, mature young woman shouldn't mean that she should have to stand up in a business suit and pumps and tell us how fiscally conservative her mom is. A recent piece from the Boston Globe—which is accompanied by a photo of Chelsea with Hillary that does convey great warmth—says that Chelsea is becoming more comfortable on the trail. If so, that's great for Chelsea. Maybe if she gets to find her own voice, people won't be so skeptical about it.
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